It's Been a While:
With regards to this poem, we had been asked to go to a secluded spot in college and write a poem based on our observations and this is what I came up with. It was a tranquil spot with not much to look at, but with peaceful serenity that after some time you could get addicted to. I must definitely mention how I got inspiration from the poem ‘Leisure’ by William Henry Davis, a poem which I hold dear to my heart.
How Grim a Life:
I wrote this poem by using random words which I spotted in a newspaper. It wasn’t a very taxing job as I somehow spotted words that brought a theme to mind after being placed together. The theme is quite gloomy and cynical, but I like how I’ve used the rhyme scheme and the metaphors to bring out a not so superficial effect.
From Leeward to Windward:
I tried my hand at writing about Bipolar Disorder through this story as I had never really attempted to write about a mental illness. I have written the story from the character’s point of view so as to bring out a better feel of the disorder and its implications. I tried to keep it as vague as possible so that the intensity of the illness is not overshadowed by unnecessary drama. I quite like how this story turned out.
Two Act Drama:
I tried to write something that would be appropriate for a younger audience as I had never given the genre a thought before. It was actually a rather refreshing change from the usual heavy material that I used to write and I thoroughly enjoyed writing this piece in particular.
The Bee:
I was inspired by a poem called ‘Chidiya aur Churungun’ by Harivanvsh Rai Bacchan, a famous Indian poet who writes in hindi.
Just like his poem, I decided to use (abcbdd) as my rhyme scheme, and I wrote a poem about nature that would perhaps be of more interest to young readers.
The following is the poem I took inspiration from:
छोड़ घोंसला बाहर आया‚
देखी डालें‚ देखे पात‚
और सुनी जो पत्ते हिलमिल‚
करते हैं आपस में बात;
माँँ‚ क्या मुझको उड़ना आया?
“नहीं चुरूगन‚ तू भरमाया”
डाली से डाली पर पहँुचा‚
देखी कलियाँ‚ देखे फूल‚
ऊपर उठ कर फुनगी जानी‚
नीचे झुक कर जाना मूल;
माँँ‚ क्या मुझको उड़ना आया?
“नहीं चुरूगन तू भरमाया”
कच्चे–पक्के फल पहचाने‚
खाए और गिराए काट‚
खाने–गाने के सब साथी‚
देख रहे हैं मेरी बाट;
माँँ‚ क्या मुझको उड़ना आया?
“नहीं चुरूगन तू भरमाया”
उस तरु से इस तरु पर आता‚
जाता हूं धरती की ओर‚
दाना कोई कहीं पड़ा हो
चुन लाता हूं ठोक–ठठोर;
माँँ‚ क्या मुझको उड़ना आया?
“नहीं चुरूगन तू भरमाया”
मैं नीले अज्ञात गगन की
सुनता हू अनिवार पुकार
कोई अंदर से कहता है
उड़ जा‚ उड़ता जा पर मार;
माँँ‚ क्या मुझको उड़ना आया?
“आज सफल हैं तेरे डैने
आज सफल है तेरी काया”
~ हरिवंश राय बच्चन
Kuki Goes to School:
This was my first attempt at writing a short story set in a Goan setting. It was a lot more enjoyable than what I had expected. Introducing Konkani vocabulary, and adding Goan culture to my writing comes more naturally than I thought. Creating the plot was super easy as I could write it according to my own experiences. As for the genre, I decided to write a children’s story because I hadn’t really explored that genre ever before. I realized how I couldn’t use certain vocabulary, and how I had to repeat certain words so as to be able to reach out to young readers.
The Love of the Moon:
Cento Poetry:
Poetry that is written by compiling lines from poems written by various poets. It is also known as patchwork poetry.
I tried to write a Cento poem, but I also added some parts that are my own, as I wanted to change the theme of the poem.
I decided to choose excerpts from poems by Sylvia Plath, the poems chosen being ‘Blackberrying’, ‘The Munich Mannequins’ and ‘Lady Lazarus’.
Plath tends to write in a manner that instills a sense of tranquil unhappiness, a sense of loss, hopelessness, and so, I wanted to attempt to change that and write something that would give the reader a feeling of hope.
Shape poetry:
We were asked to try writing Shape Poetry, which for me was a first. It seemed difficult at first, but eventually I feel like I got the hang of it.
So what is Shape Poetry? Shape poetry is a form of poetry for which the poet is required to write the poem in a shape that is related to the theme of the said poem. For example, if they want to write about a cat, they would write the poem in the shape of a cat.
Here are a few examples of Shape Poetry that I referred to:
Lord, who createdst man in wealth and store,
Though foolishly he lost the same,
Decaying more and more,
Till he became
Most poore:
With thee
O let me rise
As larks, harmoniously,
And sing this day thy victories:
Then shall the fall further the flight in me.
My tender age in sorrow did beginne
And still with sicknesses and shame.
Thou didst so punish sinne,
That I became
Most thinne.
With thee
Let me combine,
And feel thy victorie:
For, if I imp my wing on thine,
Affliction shall advance the flight in me.
- George Herbert
A broken ALTAR, Lord, thy servant rears,
Made of a heart and cemented with tears:
Whose parts are as thy hand did frame;
No workman's tool hath touch'd the same.
A HEART alone
Is such a stone,
As nothing but
Thy pow'r doth cut.
Wherefore each part
Of my hard heart
Meets in this frame,
To praise thy name:
That if I chance to hold my peace,
These stones to praise thee may not cease.
Oh, let thy blessed SACRIFICE be mine,
And sanctify this ALTAR to be thine.
- George Herbert
*
O
fury-
bedecked!
O glitter-torn!
Let the wild wind erect
bonbonbonanzas; junipers affect
frostyfreeze turbans; iciclestuff adorn
all cuckolded creation in a madcap crown of horn!
It’s a new day; no scapegrace of a sect
tidying up the ashtrays playing Daughter-in-Law Elect;
bells! bibelots! popsicle cigars! shatter the glassware! a son born
now
now
while ox and ass and infant lie
together as poor creatures will
and tears of her exertion still
cling in the spent girl’s eye
and a great firework in the sky
drifts to the western hill.
- George Starbuck
The first poem, Birds, was the one I had attempted in class. I thought of the word chevron for some reason, and it occurred to me that I could write a poem about birds in the shape of a chevron.
As for the second poem, The Doll, I got inspiration from this doll that was gifted to me when I was an infant, and as the poem says, the doll does sing and move abruptly even when no one has wound the key. That, of course, happens because the doll does not complete singing when wound, thus the remaining music plays all of a sudden at random times.
Reference for the poems I looked up:
§ “Concrete Poetry”. Poetry Foundation, 4 March 2021, https://www.poetryfoundation.org/learn/glossary-terms/concrete-poetry#:~:text=Examples%20include%20George%20Herbert's%20%E2%80%9CEaster,of%20a%20Potted%20Christmas%20Tree%E2%80%9D.
Untitled 2 (Love poem):
This was my first attempt at writing a non-platonic love poem. I wrote it for a challenge I had with some friends to see what we would all come up with. To be honest, I wrote this poem a few months ago, and although I was stuck at home due to the pandemic, the atmosphere did not really bleed into the poem.
As you may have already noticed, the poem has been written in the Shakespearean sonnet form, with each line being decasyllabic and having the rhyme scheme (abab, cdcd, efef, gg).
I tried to incorporate the five elements, fire, earth, wind, air and water in the poem, and I made use of the word ‘laves’, an archaic word for washes, which I encountered while studying the poem ‘The Voice of the Rain’ by Walt Whitman in school.
Through the mention of Nature and its various components, I have tried to draw a parallel between Nature and humans, thus showing the reflection of certain attributes of Nature in human relationships. I have specifically mentioned the moon in the last two lines of the poem as it symbolizes a woman’s chastity in Greek and Roman mythology.